ABSTRACT The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) was one of the original National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) awardees in 1987. Continuously providing training under the program since then the NTF has constantly strived to improve the effectiveness of the training, while expanding the number of courses and reaching more at-risk workers. Over the 23 years of IUOE involvement with the WETP, the training numbers have steadily grown while the cost per student has dropped. For the fiscal year (FY) 2006, the average NIEHS grantee cost per contact hour was $31.55 while the IUOE average cost per contact hour was $16.96 under the HAZMAT Disaster Preparedness Training Program (HDPTP). For FY06 the IUOE contributed 12.8 percent of the total contact hours for all NIEHS grantees and 9.7 percent of workers trained while receiving 6.7 percent of the award. The IUOE and its local union/employer training trust funds spent nearly $132 million on training in 2008 unequivocally demonstrating how firmly IUOE local unions and IUOE signatory contractors believe in a well-trained, safe and productive work force. Originally established in 1994, the IUOE National Training Fund (NTF) became the successor grantee organization to the IUOE for federal grants, contracts and cooperative agreements in 2006. The NTF serves as the umbrella organization for the lUOE's international-level training programs, coordinating policies, strategies, and activities. This reorganization was undertaken, in part, to integrate safety and health training eariy into apprenticeship programs, reaching a truly at-risk population when young workers are most open to internalizing safety as a value. In 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers who were 20 to 24 years of age had the highest incidence rate of injuries and illnesses\ The NTF offers a range of HAZWOPER and HAZWOPER-related safety and health training including disaster site training to this population as part of the broad offerings to members. With support under federal cooperative agreements the NTF provides state-of- the-art HAZWOPER and other OSHA courses and training materials to IUOE instructors and local unions. IUOE training programs have a well-deserved reputation as time-tested, consistently effective and truly international. With over one thousand instructors, hundreds of facilities, classrooms, shops, labs and thousands of acres throughout the U.S. and Canada apprentices and journey-level members can hone or advance their skills. The Secretary of Labor, Hilda Soils, has required that Labor Department staff managing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) awards for construction projects take safety training. One of the two courses she stipulated that must be taken was developed by the NTF in July 2009: OSHA 7415 Construction Industry Requirements: Awareness of Major Hazards and Prevention Strategies. The overall impact of this HDPTP proposal will be the all-hazards preparation of a nationwide cadre of skilled support personnel to prevent, mitigate and respond to workplace emergencies and disaster events. NIEHS training history In the early 1980s, before the creation of the WETP, the previous IUOE Safety and Health Director testified before Congress on the critical need to train and protect workers on hazardous waste sites. His advocacy, along with that of several similariy motivated individuals, led to the creation of the WETP program. The NTF and its predecessor grantee the IUOE have participated in the NIEHS WETP from its inception in 1987. The NTF and IUOE have been consistent, dependable supporters of the WETP. They have constantly been among the WETP leaders in terms of the array of courses offered and the number of students taught annually. Following the attacks on the Worid Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon and the anthrax attacks in 2001, the NTF aggressively supported the WETP efforts - first in responding to the WTC disaster by distributing 11,000 respirators and conducting worker training on site and subsequentiy in responding after the flooding from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In this proposal for a renewal cooperative agreement, the NTF will continue to build on its record of success and accomplishment. The NTF has received approval from WETP to request a 20 percent increase above the last year of this current cycle. With this increased support from the NIEHS the NTF will: Increase efforts to empower workers through training to identify hazards and apply the most effective controls to protect themselves, their coworkers and the community. Train a larger number of workers than in previous cycles to work safely during workplace emergencies and during response to natural and man-made disasters. Use and enhance peer training and hands-on training methods, while judiciously integrating advanced training technologies (ATT) where they can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of training efforts. Continue to be a steadfast supporter of the NIEHS WETP.